The performance of the Central American economies was sufficient to maintain the macroeconomic stability that the region acquired in recent years, but poverty levels are very close to those of the 1980s decade; in 2001, about half of the Central American population was poor and nearly a quarter lived in extreme poverty.
Sin embargo, los niveles de pobreza siguen siendo muy cercanos a los del decenio de 1980; en 2001, aproximadamente la mitad de la población centroamericana era pobre y casi una cuarta parte vivía en la pobreza extrema.